Hedge Wizard
A hedge wizard has some arcane training, but not enough to have perfected his spellcasting abilities. Hedge wizards can cast spells from a limited number of schools, but never master higher-level spells or the full scope of arcane magic. A hedge wizard may well be able to cast detect magic, lightning bolt and shield, but lacks the flexibility and power of a full wizard. Hedge wizards are often people with no formal training in wizardry, or those who chose (or were forced) to give up their apprenticeship before they had mastered all the basic arcane skills. A student thrown out of wizard school for spending too much time scrying on the girls' dormitory, a thief who studied just enough magic to find arcane traps, or an apprentice whose master died before passing on all his lore are typical hedge wizards. In other cases hedge wizards are from regions with no strong tradition of arcane knowledge—they are as well-trained as their environment can make them. A tribal druid who also knows all the arcane lore his predecessors have gathered, a cleric of a god of magic living in a land where wizardry is outlawed and arcane lore is burned, or a kobold sorcerer who is on the verge of discovering wizardry as a separate source of power all fall into this category. Alignment:' Any' *'Hit Die:' d6 *'Starting Wealth:' 2d4 × 10 sm (average 50 sm.) *'Skill Ranks per Level:' 2 + Int modifier. *'Starting Spells:' All Cantrip, 3 Novice, 1 Apprentice-level spell. Arcane Training You gain Knowledge (arcana) and Spellcraft as class skills. Features *'Weapon and Armour Proficiency:' Hedge Wizards are proficient with all simple weapons. They gain no proficiency with armor or shields. *'Cantrip Mastery:' The Hedge Wizard gains knowledge of all Cantrips and can cast them spontaneously, without advance preparation. Spellcasting The primary difference between a Hedge Wizard and one who is properly trained is both the variety of spells that they have learned as well as the degree of complexity of the spell that they can cast. Without formal training, most Hedge Wizards lack the understanding of how mana is called upon, shaped and channeled to be able to cast spells more complex than Apprentice (level 1) or Journeymage (level 2) levels. However, though they may be limited by the complexity of magic that they can cast, they make up for it by the number of times they can cast the spells they do know. Arcane Schools Hedge Wizards, due to their lack of formal training, may not specialize within any arcane schools of magic. Their magical style reflects the random nature by which their knowledge of spells is acquired. Novice-Level Spells Though Hedge Wizards may have learned how to cast a basic Light spell with the snap of their fingers, Novice-Level spells (those spells that are somewhat more advanced than the single-word cantrips) do take effort and concentration to cast. Hedge Wizards begin at level 1 with three novice-level spells within their collection. Apprentice-Level Spells Apprentice-Level spells are generally considered the peak of what most Hedge Wizards will ever learn to cast (without formal education). Most either do not have the intelligence to cast any spell beyond this rank or do not have access to the formulae to understand how the spell is constructed to cast it. Acquiring Spells Hedge Wizards are, essentially, one step up from Dabblers - those who have learned a cantrip or two either by watching wizards or possibly through study. Acquiring spells for a Hedge Wizard can take quite some time as they have to buy, barter or steal spells from 'real' wizards to add to their collection. At first level, they begin with one first level spell to reflect their constant search for new magic. At each additional level as a Hedge Wizard they may add one additional first level spell to their list. Aside from advancing in level to earn a new spell, Hedge Wizards can add new magical formula to their collection through study, purchase, discovery or theft. Study: By studying the basic elements of a cantrip, a Hedge Wizard can, in time, extrapolate more advanced structures of the spell. Thus a cantrip-level spell such as Light can be expanded to the novice-level spell Flare (spell) with study. This process takes weeks of trial and error without the formula to instruct them. For each 'step' the spell is increased (up to Apprentice-Level) the Hedge Wizard must spend one month in study. During this time, they will need to limit their use of mana by the cost of the spell at the level researched (novice or apprentice level) per day as part of their trial and error period. Only one spell can be researched at a time. Purchase: A Hedge Wizard can, if a seller can be found, simply by the magical formulae required to learn to cast the spell desired. This can be found from a true Wizard who might sell them the spell or perhaps at a Hedge Market where discovered or acquired scrolls and spells are sold and traded among other Hedge Wizards. To buy a spell from a wizard, the cost is generally the same price as that of purchasing the price of the same spell as a scroll (10-20 SM) Discovery: It's the rare Hedge Wizard that happens upon an arcane spell (either in an Arcanabula, Scroll or Grimoire) but miracles do happen. Theft: '''Hedge Wizards are not saints. There is nothing preventing a hedge wizard from stealing the magical notes of a true Wizard to further their understanding of magic. Granted, this may not be the wisest of methods to acquire spells but nearly anything is possible with the proper application of silver or steel. '''Learning Spells Once acquired (either through purchase, discovery or acquisition), the wizard will need to spend one week working out the details of the spell for each level of complexity (1 week for novice, 2 for apprentice) before having understood how to cast it. During this time, they will have to commit a portion of their available mana to this trial and error period and as such are seen to have cast the spell at least once each day for the requisite time period. Spellbooks A Hedge Wizard has studied their collection cantrips to such a degree that they need not rely upon a spellbook for them. However, their limited collection of Apprentice-Level spells does require a spellbook (and possible further notation) to explain how the mana is shaped, any helpful material components and the like. A typical hedge wizard's spellbook will be a patchwork collection of pages from other spellbooks, gathered and lovingly protected within their covers. Many times Hedge Wizards will find spells to add to their collection through found scrolls, partially destroyed wizard spellbooks or even the Arcanabula of more advanced wizards. Characters Character/Hedge Wizard Category:Class/Wizard Category:Sub-Class Category:Wizard Category:Profession